Atlantic Blue Tang
Acanthurus coeruleus
Twospot surgeonfish
Ctenochaetus binotatus
About
The twospot surgeonfish is a quiet, brown reef grazer named for the pair of dark spots that mark its flanks. It reaches up to 22 cm.
Also known as: twospot surgeonfish, twospot surgeonfish, two-spot bristletooth surgeonfish, twospot bristletooth, surgeonfish, two-spot bristle-tooth, two-spot surgeonfish, twospot bristletooth, two-spot bristle-tooth
- Length
- 22 cm
- Depth
- 10–50 m
How to tell it apart
Several brown surgeonfish in this genus look alike. The pair of dark spots, one on each of these fins, is what tells this species apart from relatives that lack them.
Appearance
Its body is brown with pale spots scattered on the head and chest, and pale horizontal lines running along its flanks. The eyes are blue. A single dark spot sits at the rear base of the dorsal fin, on its back, and of the anal fin, on its underside near the tail. The tail fin is crescent-shaped in adults.
Habitat
It lives on seaward reefs and in deep lagoons with coral and rubble, from about 8 m down to 53 m, mostly between 10 and 50 m.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
